There is no such thing as ‘too much garlic.'”
— Your author, in a culinarily inspired moment
Tag: Quotables
Illustrative things said by people other than me. Think of them as pieces of congealed wonder and wisdom.
“Strangers Stopping Strangers, Just to Shake Their Hand…”
Well, I ain’t often right, but I’ve never been wrong —
It seldom turns out the way it does in the song.
Once in a while, you get shown the light
In the strangest of places, if you look at it right…”
— Robert Hunter, a”h
A Universe Full Of “Learn Here” Stickers
There was a time when every brief saying one heard was regarded as a ‘Torah’ (teaching, guidance), and everything one saw was perceived as an instruction in his Avoda (worship, service) and conduct.”
–Daily Hayom Yom newsletter
…And Editor
If truth is stranger than fiction, it is because it has a better and more creative author.”
— Jeff Forsythe
The Opposite of Hubris
The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the profusion of matter and of the stars, but that within this prison we can draw from ourselves images powerful enough to deny our nothingness.”
— Andre Malraux
Making It Real
The harder it became, the more I wanted to do it.”
— Female round-the-world sailor, from the film MAIDEN
Jump Start
If church worked, you’d only need to go once.”
— Pastor Rich Gantenbein, a”h
Difference Engineer
The only difference between a madman and myself is that I am not mad.”
— Salvador Dali
The Right Sort of Vision
To gain a yirah[awe]-inducing glimpse of the transcendent, you must sharpen your inner awareness to perceive divine Oneness wherever you look. You can practice shifting your inner vision to apprehend the scintillating divine presence in an apple, a table, a car, a baby’s eyes, anywhere in this world. When you make that choice and adjust your perception in this way, you have placed HaShem [that-which-some-people-call-G?d] before you, and yirah is sure to overtake your heart as if the floor beneath you had suddenly fallen away.”
–From the monthly YASHAR newsletter)
The Stellar Siblinghood
Backyard astronomers are a special breed. They savor their moments under the stars. They have an infatuation — a love affair — with the cosmos that grows and nurtures itself just as meaningful human relationships do. Of course, it is a less definable one-way relationship, but I have come to regard that feeling as the closest I can ever come to being at one with nature. After a night under the stars, I have a sense of mellowness, an amalgam of humility, wonder and discovery. The universe is beautiful, in both the visual and spiritual sense.”
–Terence Dickinson, Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe
Shepherd’s Book
Lord, I’m walking Your way. Let me in, for my feet are sore, my clothes ragged. Look in my eyes, Lord, and my sins will play out on them as on a screen. Read them all. Forgive what You can, and send me on my path. I will walk on, until You bid me rest.”
—Shepherd Book
Can’t Escape the Man
Your spiritual practice will give you many gifts, but don’t expect it to relieve you of your human nature.”
–Alan Morinis